In a robust, sometimes rambling, Tony-the-Tiger speech, President Obama seemed to be announcing that things were swell, because his policies had been vindicated and worked during the Jan. 20 State of the Union before Congress.

Inside, men and women in robes and the best lawyers in the United States were in the midst of a historic debate on the merits and future of President Barack Obama’s historic health care proposal. Outside, the masses had gathered to conduct their own debates, large and small. It was a heck of a day at the Supreme Court.

How rich is Mitt Romney compared to other presidents? His most recent tax return proves that he's worth a cool quarter billion. So, where would that rank? He’d be behind only President George Washington. But unlike Washington, Romney didn’t inherit his wealth. He earned it.

Any of you who have heard me speak recently have probably heard me talk about the fact that the District of Columbia is in a better financial position than any other city, county, or state in the country. Our finances remain strong and the development projects in our city are the envy of our neighbors.

The transformation of Georgetown’s land along the Potomac River was completed four months ago. After years in the making, Georgetown Waterfront Park now stands as a stupendous achievement for this town and the District of Columbia. It had many advocates, but the Friends of Georgetown Waterfront Park, never took its eyes off the prize.

By the time anyone reads this, the New Hampshire Primary for the Republican Presidential Nomination will be over, unless its closer than the Iowa Caucus, in which eight votes separated winner Mitt Romney and runner-up Rick Santorum.

Life—or rather death—goes on in the new year of 2012. People we know, have heard of, miss, people of achievement, and just plain old celebrities pass on, as we will too in some year or another. A brief commemoration for those we lost in 2011.

Mendota stands at the crossroads of its past and a green energy future. Mendota is developing into a leading community in Fresno County, and industries across the globe are keeping an eye on the projects underway there. One of those industries is what has made California a champion in the world, Green Energy Technology.

There’s nothing quite like the permanent dark cloud that seems to have settled over the workings of the government of the District of Columbia and the early months of the administration of newly-elected mayor Vincent Gray.

Redistricting is a difficult job and this year has been no exception. Federal law allows a deviation in Ward population of plus or minus 5 percent, which gave us a range of 71,455 - 78,976 residents within which to work. The District’s population increased by 29,664, or 5.2 percent, between 2000 and 2010.

They argued about it some and they fussed about it some, but in the end the much anticipated city council debate over Mayor Vincent Gray’s controversial proposal to raise the DC income tax on earners over $200,000 didn’t really have much of a chance.

Orange is back as the newly-elected at-large city councilman, winning a special election to fill the seat formerly held by Kwame Brown, who was elected council chairman last year in a race against Orange. Talk about perseverance. Orange won a tight race, considering the low voter turnout citywide, that featured a strong challenge by Republican Patrick Mara, who was endorsed by the Washington Post and won impressive pluralities in Wards 2, 3 and 6.

In a year when bad news was a part of your breakfast cereal, the death of an evil man seems like bloody sunshine. I bask in it, uncomfortably, waiting for warmth and relief, as if something had ended at last.

Our city is the poster child for the notion that all politics is local. People who live here live in distinct neighborhoods, in areas with distinct qualities, atmospheres, residents and histories. However, the elephants in the Washington neighborhoods are the White House and the Capitol Building, and the people who work in them. The government and the President make us the center of the world, and entangle our daily lives and local politics in larger national and international issues.

Here is a rundown of the frontrunner candidates in the campaign—Vincent Orange, Sekou Biddle, Patrick Mara and Bryan Weaver—from their professional history to their accomplishments and goals for the city’s future.

For the past sixty years, we have debated whether health care is a moral issue, that is, whether we as a nation have a moral obligation to provide health care to everyone or whether each individual is responsible for his or her own health care. Except for the United States, every democracy on earth believes it has a moral obligation to provide health care to its entire citizenry.

Earlier this week, I was talking to a neighbor of mine. And like a lot of people in my neighborhood and across the city, he’s interested in the Mayor’s budget proposals. And everyone thinks there’s going to be trouble over the budget.

At this stage in the campaign to fill the At Large City Council Seat vacated by Kwame Brown’s winning bid for the City Council Chair, the candidate forums are like the political equivalent of speed dating. The election for the seat isn’t until April 26, which leaves plenty of time for voters to get to know the candidates. And there’s a lot to choose from—close to ten candidates are in the field, and one of them is already sitting on the council.

We have nothing but admiration for the Japanese people, especially those who suffered directly from the earthquake and the tsunami. No lootings, stoic bearing, grace under pressure. A nice word, too, for the media reporters who stayed and covered this disaster amid the obvious dangers, as well as those covering the tumultuous and continuing events in the Middle East and North Africa. They too placed themselves at risk and worked in dangerous conditions, and some of them paid the price. Not so for the home front television newsies who keep thinking that all news is about us.

This is the time of year when Americans think about presidents. Usually, it’s about George Washington, the first president, and Abraham Lincoln, the most haunting, memorable president. This year, it’s worthwhile to think a little broader, farther and wider.

“Save Your Pennies.” Families save for big purchases or tough times. States similarly create “rainy day funds,” and the federal government spent less in prosperous times and more in difficult ones (per Keynesian theory). The New Deal, with its creation of jobs in the Great Depression to rebuild and restore America’s infrastructure, typified this approach.

This letter is in response to Gary Tischler’s editorial of November 3rd, “Congrats to Gray: Election Day and Beyond.” As a Georgetowner myself, and as the founder of the Facebook page Mr. Tischler referenced, “Run, Fenty, Run”, which helped jumpstart the write-in campaign, I thought it would make sense to address some of the points Mr. Tischler made regarding that effort.

The Georgetowner’s editorial, “The Perpetually Delayed Waterfront Park Turns to the Community for More Money”, (November 3, 2010) could not be more wrong. The funds are in hand to complete the Georgetown Waterfront Park in the Spring of 2011. In the past several months, work on Phase 2 of the park has been moving full-steam ahead. The river steps are in place, the pergolas have been erected, and a construction of the fountain, pathways, and riverside promenade is well underway.

If you had been standing at the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and R Street in April 2007, staring at the Georgetown Public Library up in flames, with its roof collapsing as firefighters rushed to connect working hydrants and librarians threw damaged documents onto the sidewalk, you had a right to feel depressed. It’s a damn shame to see a library on fire. How and when would we fix this?

The Key Bridge — Friday, October 19. Walking across the bridge, from the Rosslyn metro into town, five police officers were sitting on the Washington side, immediately pulling over drivers on their cell phones and issuing tickets. All the commotion was exacerbating a traffic jam on the already crowded bottleneck onto M Street, on a typically busy Friday morning. The rows of stopped vehicles and squad cars could have led you to believe there was a drug bust in place. Three blocks into town, I had already passed three other officers ticketing vehicles that had over-extended their parking privileges
by the slightest infraction.

After ongoing delays and skyrocketing leaps over the original budget by over $2.2 million, Waterfront Park is still about where it has been for the past six months: over budget and delayed. Delays were largely a result of previously undetected foundation debris associated with the former Capital Traction Company Powerhouse that was located at the spot of the park. The building was demolished in 1968.

Ever since DC City Council Chairman Vince Gray scored a solid and surprising win over incumbent mayor Adrian Fenty back in September, there was a certain air of calm before the storm throughout the city, as voters waited in place for the validating election that occurred this week.

Readers of The Georgetowner’s October 6 issue were presented with a summary of the ANC meeting including the Tudor Place Resolution in the GT Observer section and a letter by Neighbors of Tudor Place. As President of the Board of the Tudor Place Foundation, I want to address misconceptions presented in the latter.

The Democratic Primary election has been done and over since mid-September, but somehow, the past week still felt like election mode.

Especially if you were Vincent Gray, the still-Chairman of the City Council who won the primary. Especially if you were District of Columbia School System Chancellor Michelle Rhee. Especially if you were Mayor Adrian Fenty, who lost the primary election.

In our Lanier Heights neighborhood, as I’m sure it is elsewhere, dog owners are not always greeted by name, but their dogs are. Everyone, in short, knows Bailey. But a surprising many people struggle with my name, which is both a curse and blessing. I feel like Jack Kennedy when he said, “I’m the man who accompanied Jacqueline Kennedy to Paris.” I am the man who walks Bailey around the block.

Walk into the offices of DC City Council Chairman Vincent Gray, and it’s like walking into two different
worlds.

Along a small corridor of offices and cubicles, there are people talking on the phone; computers are on. It’s got all the signs of any busy bureaucratic office. Walk into his office, with Gray leading the way, and the busy sounds die down. His office is reminiscent of an expansive drawing room — leather chairs, a large desk, books and pictures on the wall.

Outside, it was a typical American-style Friday night in Dupont Circle, restaurants and watering holes busy, couples and groups of people wandering up and down the streets; a mild fall-like weekend
night, outdoor dining, indoor imbibing.

We write in response to a press release and neighborhood mailing by Tudor Place Foundation announcing the public presentation of a Master Plan for Tudor Place, the historic house museum and garden in Georgetown. The Plan includes the construction of a two-story above ground Visitor Center on 31st Street, a large one story Education Center behind 1670 31st Street, a large Greenhouse visible from 32nd Street, and a large Collections Storage addition at the south end of the historic Garage that currently tops out at six stories above 32nd Street. All of these projects are to be located at the perimeter of the property and will transform the Tudor Place from a residential into an institutional property and will diminish its historic character.

Glenn Beck is coming to town. So is Sarah Palin. They’re bringing about 300,000 folks with them for a major conservative rally called “Restoring Honor,” a fevered brain child of Beck’s originally meant to be about honoring American servicemen.

The Metropolitan AME Church not only been a major center of worship, but also an institution in the forefront of the civic, cultural, and intellectual life of African Americans. It deserves better treatment.

At a July 8 public forum featuring Kwame Brown and Vincent Orange, it was disappointing to hear from both city council chairman candidates what amounted to little more than canned, anemic responses to the issues confronting Georgetown today.

A group of seniors from the Georgetown Senior Center, still game in their own way, and still reeling with memories from the loss of founder Virginia Allen, took a trip to the ballpark to see Nats phenom Stephen Strasburg.

States and localities around the nation, of course, are dealing with problems similar to those facing the District: a significant decline in revenues matched up against state and local budgets, which have seen sharp growth through the current decade.